Wednesday, July 30, 2014

Last week, I revealed in my post 20 Things You Don't Know About Me, that I am a product of a blended family. What exactly does this mean? Merriam-Webster defines a blended family as a family that includes children of a previous marriage of one spouse or both. I'm aware that this blended family post might hit too close to home in terms of my own family reading this, but this is something that is really important for me to share since being in a blended family has become apart of so many lives including my own. This is my story, in my own words. I hope to inspire a family or two with my experience. (This was one of the hardest posts I had to write, and admit to the world that I love my blended family very much. You see I have a beautiful mother, I'm loyal too. I must not leave out, that when I was younger and was having a hard time dealing with my parents divorce my mother was always there. She heard my cries, and soothed my heart. My mom has been there for me through everything, and has done so much for me and my sisters. Even though, she'll never tell me how much it may hurt her feelings that I love my blended family...I try to be careful. My mom is my world, and the best woman I know.) One of my many faults is that I am stubborn. It's a trait I coined since I was little. I have always been my own person, running my own race, and leading my own pack. When my parents separated I was naturally hurt, and angry. I won't air out any dirty laundry but lets skip to the part where I met my future blended family via my dad. If I can remember correctly, I was 15 yrs. old and not very friendly nor interested. I was the worst! I was pretty much stubborn and deflected all my anger towards my dads side. Looking back at it now, and a little bit more wise...I realize how important it was for his children to meet his girlfriend, her children and to make a good impression. Unfortunately for my dad, I didn't leave too much of a good impression, or showed any manners he and my mom instilled in me throughout the years. I'm more than sure he talked highly of me, and I left his new home with a stank in their mouths. It's something I'm not particularly proud of, and at times I can still see a little hurt in their eyes. 14 years later, and a lot of growing up, I'm a different person. I'm understanding, patient, caring, and I have opened my heart to my blended family. I Promise You I will by When in Rome on GroovesharkEven though it was hard for me to accept my dads new life, time keeps moving. It wasn't long before my baby sisters Khloe, and Kenadie were born, and little by little something began to change in me. Now that I had 2 half sisters, things had to change a little, so I took baby steps to getting to know the mother of my sisters. I tried to be more open to spending time with my "new family". We're all a little stubborn, a little selfish in our lives, and that's exactly what I was. I was too young to understand that family should always, always be number 1. So when my baby sister Keni (3years old) asked "Are you my sissy" I felt a pang in my heart. I wanted to shout out, and ask my dad why Keni didn't know me. But as I sat there, I realized that it was no one's fault besides my own. It stirred something in me...I was their sister, and I wasn't treating them as so. Even though, I loved them it wasn't enough. It's giving up your time, it's being there, it's those bonding moments that make you a sibling. I love them so much, regardless of what anyone has to say. So I had to grow up, and quick for my baby sisters to recognize me as someone they can love, and trust...a sister. Although, it had been a good 10 years of being a blended family...my dad and my step mom made their way down the aisle and said their I do's. Making our blended family absolutely official. They say when your in the presence of love, you can feel it. That much is true. As I watched my dad remarry I thought I'd be filled with a little sadness but what I felt surprised me. I was open, accepting, loving, and overall happy to see my dad happy. I found that it was easier to let go, forgive and love; than to be filled with hate and anger. It felt like a thousand pounds lifted off my shoulders to release what resentment I had. Along the blended journey, somehow, some kind of a brotherly/sisterly relationship began to develop slowly with my step brother. It was something that honestly took some time. We made our relationship the way it is, on our own, with no pressure or negativity. Year after year...deployment after deployment...visit after visit, we became what we are today...brothers/sisters. Now that we've made this relationship the way it is, I wouldn't have it any other way. We're known to do all the same things brothers and sisters do with each other such as tease, bicker, mock, fight, be silly, play, laugh so hard it hurts, embarrass each other or our other siblings, and most importantly being there. I still have hopes that I can build a relationship with my other two step siblings, like I have with my step brother. It's taken years, and when I say years, I really mean so many years to be at a place where we can all love like a true family. I can gladly and honestly say I cherish the times I spend with my blended family. So I have a blended family, and that means I have my moms side of the family, dads side, and my new step side...I love them all equally. It's a hard transition, but given love, time and patience, it's something that can be conquered. The Promise by When in Rome (song above) is a song I have dedicated to my whole family.

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Friday, July 25, 2014

Happy Friday!! Enjoy my Blogmopolitan today because I decided to link up with Erin at Two Thirds Hazel today. I'm a little late on this post, but I hope you enjoy it. Feel free to answer these questions on your own and comment the answers to my disqus comment. I love getting to know my readers. Hope everyone's having a great Friday!

Guidelines for Commenting: Be respectful of other commenters, and blog author - Meeting differences of opinion with civil discussion encourages multiple perspectives and a positive commenting environment.
Don’t feed the trolls - Carefully consider your response if you encounter a user who displays combative behaviors.
We reserve the right to remove comments - Comments that we find to be abusive, spammy, off-topic, or harassing may be removed.

Wednesday, July 23, 2014

I'm very proud and honored to make this review post about my uNu DX-5 Iphone 5s charging case! Spark Plug (my iPhone's name) is also very happy to get his charge on, while on the run!

Here's Spark Plug, all alone, without a case. Poor Spark Plug, but luckily for him, uNu has provided him with the best case he'll ever have. Looking for a new case, for a new phone is always something we love to do. You want a case that will protect your phone as well as add a part of your personality. With the uNu DX-5 you get to charge your phone when on the run, as well as protect your phone. I received a free sample (my uNu DX-5) to review and share my experience with this product. This review is my own thoughts and opinions on this product. uNu is a company dedicated to producing the best power source for your mobile devices. I've had the pleasure to work with uNu and I am fully grateful for this opportunity. uNu also offers a program when they have products available called U-Try. You sign up for a free sample to try out the charging case. When I received my DX-5, the shipping was really fast. The case was fully protected. The case came in this box, which didn't have one dent.

uNu allowed me to pick the color I wanted and I choose Glossy White. The color is just as the name describes. It's glossy, and it's white. The case itself is very smooth, and feels good in the palm. The case is very light, and not at all bulky.

The Case is very easy to charge. You just plug it in. Once the case is ready the light turns green, and you can put your phone in the case. It's easy enough to install the phone in the case. The top slides off, and you can slide your phone right in. I love this charging case, because it's not heavy at all. I've had a charging case before and the case was heavy. The design is slim and smooth. I get about 2 full charges from the case. I'm always on my phone, which makes this phone accessory necessary! Charging the case is simple, and fast. All you have to do is click the power button on the back to start charging. No need to take the phone out of the case, because you can charge the case and phone together. I've used this case for over a month and so far it's been the best cell phone case I've ever owned.

This case came with:

uNu Protective Battery Case 2300mAh

micro USB cable

Head phone jack extender

Screen protector

and the user manual

uNu was also awarded in 2013 on Customer Reports for being one of the four best cases to charge your smart phone! If your interested in purchasing head over to their website or click here. Also, if you follow uNu on Facebook, they do product giveaways every Friday on FB.

I was given a free sample to review and enjoy the experience. My review is my honest own opinion and thoughts.

Here is a short video about the DX-5

Thank you for reading my review, and I hope you check out this perfect powering source for your smart phone.

Monday, July 14, 2014

It's all about eShaktitoday! I have a #companycrush for eShakti, and can't wait to share this with my readers! eShakti is the only online women's fashion apparel offering size 0-36 & custom clothing. This company thinks it's not right to tell a woman her size is not available! They believe that all women have the right to express themselves and wear affordable fashion! eShakti has exclusively offered my readers 10% off when you shop at eShakti! Use the code "diybrides" valid from 7/14/14-8/1/14!! This is an amazing deal, don't miss out! Also if you signup with eShakti you get $25 off your first order!!! That's an amazing deal as well! eShakti has a variety of beautiful apparel! I personally love shopping online, because it's line, and hassle free! The first thing I noticed on eShakti is the wedding and events section of their online shop. I'm a bridal blogger, so it was only natural for me to check out this section. The amount of variety in this section was overwhelming! There are so many cute dresses to choose from! Here's my absolute favorite dress in this section!

Not only am I a bride, but I'm a student teacher, I noticed that eShakti has stunning professional dresses for my teacher wardrobe! I love wearing dresses to work, because their so classy, and most importantly comfortable!

When picking out my first dress from eShakti, I kept in mind that I'm a student teacher, and I found this cute maxi dress! Once I ordered it, I couldn't wait to get it!

I didn't wait long, because the shipping was pretty quick! The dress arrived days before I estimated it to get to me! I was definitely impressed with how the dress was packaged. There wasn't one wrinkle on my beautiful dress! Below are the pictures of my eShakti dress.

My dress is a red wine, maxi dress. It has a colorful, and playful pattern on the top of the dress. It comes with a matching belt, to slim the design. When ordering the dress I was able to pick the size of the dress, along with the length of the dress.

I love maxi dresses, but one problem I seem to come across is the fact that I'm short, and some maxi dresses are too long. I always had this problem when purchasing maxi dresses, and it's such a waste of time, and money to get them hemmed. So immediately I loved that I was able to customize the length along with the size. The dress is very comfortable, and fun!

Below are more fun pictures I took in my dress! (I was having too much fun taking pictures, but I hope you like the dress)

The dog in the background look lol Bandits claim to fame!

The look away lol

The MK goes well! lol

Overall, I absolutely love eShakti, and I hope all my readers get around to checking this online shop! Again, eShakti has exclusively offered my readers 10% off when you shop at eShakti! Use the code "diybrides" valid from 7/14/14-8/1/14!! This is an amazing deal, don't miss out! This offer cannot be used with any other promotional offers, or clearance/sale/overstock/gift card offers. **My pictures, hair, and styling was all done by my sister Anisa ;) **

Tuesday, July 8, 2014

I am a very happy girl, because I recently I have had the opportunity to work with an amazing company called Irresistible Me! If your interested in purchasing these incredible clip-in hair extensions Irresistible Me has given my readers a permanent 10% discount!!!! Just put this code IrresistibleBrideduring checking out by adding it in the Promo Code box!Irresistible Me is a company that provides salon-quality, 100% human hair extensions at an affordable price. Irresistible Me was launched in 2012, but has been very successful, and continues to grow each year. From my own personal experience with Madison from Irresistible Me I have noticed that this company takes pride in their products and are very dedicated to providing quality customer service. I ordered the natural Remy, natural black #1b, length 24, weight 200g clip-in hair extensions. This was the closest color to my hair. On a side note I do have highlights in my hair, but that didn't affect anything for me. If you need help finding the right color, Irresistible Me has a chat available to all customers visiting their website. Or you can use this video below, Madison from Irresistible Me sent me to help me choose the right color.

I was really excited to receive my Irresistible Me hair extensions by FedEx in the morning about a week ago. My first impression of this product, was the care in packaging! The hair came in a beautiful black box, that kept the hair secure. When I opened the box, I noticed my hair extension were kept in this bag! The bag kept my extensions in ready to use shape. I really didn't need to brush out the extensions for knots or anything!

This is me below without hair extensions. My hair is pretty long already, I know but extensions always makes my hair look full, and its easier to style. (Don't judge my outfit! lol I was about to do my hair, and I like to be comfortable.)

I made the decision to have my little sister help me with the process of clipping the extensions in. It's not hard, but I also wanted her to do my hair for my brothers weddings. I was so excited that I could wear my Irresistible Me clip-in hair extensions to his wedding.

This is me below, with my Irresistible Me hair extensions. As you can see, my hair is slightly longer.

I was the maid of honor at a very relaxed wedding, so we went for a Kim Kardashian look! Look how FAB my hair looks!! I love how full and easy it was to style my hair!

Please forget you see a rake in my picture lol We took a few quick shots because we were running late!

So here's what I learned!

1. It's super easy to clip-in these extensions!

2. The full pack of extensions really make your hair look full, and beautiful.

3. If I could use them, then anyone can.

4. They feel just like my own hair! 100% human hair!! Which means you must take care of them just like you would your own hair.

5. They're easy to take out as well.

6. They never show, if you position them the correct way!

7. I LOVE THEM!!!

*****************My Irresistible Me extensions are just amazing! I feel so honored to have had this opportunity to review Irresistible Me clip-in 100% human hair extensions.

If your interested in purchasing these incredible clip-in hair extensions Irresistible Me has given my readers a permanent 10% discount!!!! Just put this code IrresistibleBrideduring checking out by adding it in the Promo Code box! ********************************